Is There A Cure For Addiction?

Medical science has come a long way in developing cures for many 21st-century diseases. With so much study and so much support available to substance abuse addicts, is easy to assume that we've reached a point where we can cure addiction.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. While there are many treatment programs that have high success rates with substance abusers who follow the program, there is no cure for addiction. Once you have some type of addiction, you will always have the tendency toward that addiction even if you stop drinking alcohol or using drugs for years.

However, it is not a death sentence to those who are suffering from addiction or for the people who have to live with the person who is an addict. While you'll never get to a point where you can control alcohol again, you can control the addiction. The key to success for people who have managed to control their addiction is to work the program. Studies show that when a person is an alcoholic or drug user, and they faithfully commit themselves to taking the steps needed to control their addiction, they have a higher chance of succeeding long-term than those who don't follow the program.

It is important to note that one can't be "cured" of alcohol or drug addiction. Once you are an addict you then become a recovering addict and will need to maintain your commitment to stay in recovery for the rest of your life. Even after 10 or 20 years, if a recovering addict lets their guard down and is convinced that they can fall off the wagon just this once, it can be detrimental to their recovery. No matter how much time has passed, the body remembers addiction and it will be much easier to fall victim to substance abuse again.

For this reason, having a strong supports system in place around the addict can help ensure continued recovery success. Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and group support meetings for drugs help the recovering addict stay on track by reminding them of their sobriety and what it takes to stay that way. It also helps to know that other people have stayed in recovery for a long period of time, therefore giving the addict a much-needed boost that they too can succeed.

Remember, many drug and alcohol abusers suffer from low self-esteem. By continuing to work on building self-esteem, and not blaming themselves for the past behavior, but learning from it and learning to move on, the recovering addict can learn to get on with their life and leave their past mistakes behind.

While it is possible for an addict to learn to live without alcohol or drugs, the person must change their behavior and deal with the feelings that brought the addiction about. By learning to live life in a new way, the person can then control their addiction.